When the city of Carthage was laid out in 1836, two lots were reserved for a graveyard. The first burials took place in 1837, and Carthage City Cemetery eventually grew to contain over 300 extant burials and several unmarked grave sites. Those buried there include at least two former mayors of Carthage, two state senators, three postmasters, four justices of the peace, a Choctaw Removal agent, and veterans of the War of 1812, Mexican War, Civil War, World War I, and World War II.